Now, $10 strapless flip-flops that stick to the feet with an adhesive

New York, May 19 (ANI): Forget about strapless bras and dresses, and welcome the summers with new strapless flip flops, available for juts 10 dollars a pair.

The new strapless, thongless Sticky Sandals attach to the sole of the foot with adhesive and can be reglued and reused this summer.

The footwear can be washed with soap and water when they get soiled,

The topless sandals are somewhat of a bargain, selling for 9.99 dollars a pair on AOL Shopping website, and less if you order in bulk.

And the best part is—one size fits most, reports the New York Daily News.

They’re perforated to fit, and you can also trim.

In fact, one can even accessorize these ultra-casual sandals with Swarovski toe rings and anklets, and if you’d like a bit more support, you can even order arch supports for 11.99 dollars.

The website also advises potential wearers that the adhesive sticks best when the feet are clean and dry, and that those who live in a “high moisture” environment may want to put an antiperspirant on their feet beforehand.

Just peel it off to remove. If that doesn’t work, run water on your feet, and if that fails too, reconsider rewearing them. (ANI)

Women �better than men at DIY jobs�

London, May 3 (ANI): If a new research is to be believed, then women are now increasingly taking over the conventional male role of doing ”do it yourself” jobs around the home.

Sales of hand tools and decorating material to women have gone up. This is simply because women are tired of waiting for their other halves to fix things. They would rather help themselves than wait.

A study by Tesco concluded that out of every 3 women, 2 (60 per cent) are now shopping for DIY items – three times as many as a decade ago (20 per cent).

“It is now a case of I know a woman who can, as more and more women pick up a screwdriver,” the Telegraph quoted Fabio Perrotta, manager of Tesco hardware, as saying.

Spokeswoman Gail McGibbon, added: “In the last 12 months sales of pink ladies garden secateurs, pink handled trowels, pink garden gloves and pink kneeler pads are up as much as 170 per cent.

“The trend shows women are doing an increasing number of small jobs around the garden because they are fed of waiting for their other halves to get off the sofa.” (ANI)

Swann hopes his Jaguar thieves have ‘freak accident with blunt instrument soon’

London, Apr 28(ANI): England off-spinner Graeme Swann is reportedly upset and furious after his Jaguar was stolen from outside his house in Nottingham, UK.

According to reports, burglars broke into his house after they managed to bypass the property’s security system, when his wife Sarah was out for shopping. Nothing else was reportedly taken.

“I hope the chaps who broke into my house while I am away are involved in a freak accident with a blunt instrument very soon,” The Sun quoted Swann, as having written online.

Swann was in Barbados preparing for the Twenty20 World Cup when he heard the news, and an England source said: “Swann was upset as he feels unable to do much to help from thousands of miles away.”

The 31-year-old also owns a Porsche. (ANI)

UK-based computer game retailer legally owns souls of its customers!

Washington, April 16 (ANI): A computer game retailer has revealed that it has legally gained ownership of the souls of thousands of online shoppers.

With a view to show how most gamers overlook the terms and conditions of an online sale, British firm GameStation added the ‘Immortal Soul Clause’ which grants the company the right to claim customers’ souls, reports Fox News.

The terms of service were updated on April Fool’s Day as a gag to show that online shoppers do not care for terms and conditions of shopping.

GameStation claimed that 88 per cent of online shoppers failed to detect the clause and signed over their soul. The rest 12 per cent who did not transfer their souls to the firm were awarded with a 5-pound gift voucher each.

However, the company noted that it would not be enforcing the ownership rights, and planned to e-mail customers nullifying any claim on their soul. (ANI)

Thai protests may hurt economy – c.bank governor

BANGKOK, April 5 (Reuters) – Growing street protests in Bangkok against Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva could hurt the Thai economy but the extent of any damage depends on how long they last, Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase said on Monday. However, the governor said it was premature to say if the three-week protests, including a siege of Bangkok’s main shopping district at the weekend, would prompt the central bank to delay raising rates, which analysts expect to take place in April or early June. (Reporting by Boontiwa Wichakul; Writing by Vithoon Amorn; Editing by Alan Raybould)

Groper stalks, robs grandpas

Police are looking for a woman who they say is groping elderly men before robbing them in Sydney’s west.

More than 40 men aged in their 70s or 80s have been attacked around Auburn in the past few weeks.

Officers have already arrested a 26-year-old woman over the attacks.

She has been charged with four offences and remains in custody.

But they are looking for another older woman who they believe is behind the other offences.

She is described as being in her late 30s or early 40s, and they have CCTV footage of her.

Introducing herself as Katie, the woman approaches and befriends her victims at shopping centres, bus stops or in pubs. She gropes them before taking their wallets.

In one case, the offender chatted to an 86-year-old at an Auburn pub. She followed him home and made a sexual advance before walking into his house and taking a large amount of cash.

European company develops mobile robots that are autonomous and multi-tasking

Madrid (Spain), September 19 (ANI): An European company has developed innovative robots which are mobile, multifunctional, collaborative, autonomous and polyvalent, suitable for a wide range of work from street cleaning and rubbish collection to accompanying elderly people.

According to a report carried out in www.basqueresearch.com, this new generation of robots have been developed by TECNALIA Technological Corporation, and are a part of the European DUSTBOT research project under the remit of the VI European Framework Programme and in which TECNALIA is participating.

These latest generation robots are suitable for the monitoring of large spaces (open and closed), as guides for persons in large shopping areas (indicating to them where a particular shop or product is within a shopping centre), for accompanying elderly people or those with certain disabilities (both at home and outside), thanks to their functions of orientation, navigation, communications with others or tele-assistance centres.

They can also be used as guides in teaching spaces (museums, visitor centres), and for transport, storage and transport and goods deliveries, besides the cleaning of both open and closed surfaces, which have either difficult or easy access.

DUSTBOT has collaborative, multifunctional and autonomous robots that are capable of operating in partially destructured environments/situations based on information provided by a map.

The robots can also facilitate working in large areas, stations, airports and other types of public buildings, without being any obstacle for the activity of these places, given its reduced size, and without being a danger for members of the public, thanks to the novel system for the detection and avoidance of obstacles.

The rail station of the Euskotren company in the Bilbao neighbourhood of Atxuri in Spain was chosen for the public presentation of these devices.

The demonstration of two robot models was undertaken: the DustCart and the DustClean.

The DustCart robot, measuring 1.45 metres high and 70 Kg in weight, has a humanoid form and is designed to interact with the user and for the collection of low demand waste.

The DustClean robot, in the form of a small vehicle and measuring 96 cm high and 250 Kg in weight, cleans streets of dirt and dust. Moreover, both control the quality of air in real time.

“These robots are the solution for cleaning areas of difficult access and for the collection of rubbish at the very front door of, above all, persons who have mobility problems when moving the rubbish to the communal waste containers,” said Inaki Inzunza, Director of the Business Unit at the Tecnalia Technological Corporation. (ANI)

US Fritzl told wife “to take the cute blond girl” during “child shopping” trip

London, Sept 13 (ANI): Phillip Garrido, the “American Fritzl”, selected Jaycee Lee Dugard as his prey during a “child shopping” trip because she looked cute, his wife has told police in California.

Describing the precision that went into the abduction of the then 11-year-old Jaycee, Nancy told cops that they decided not to snatch the pretty blond girl with the gap-toothed grin that day in June 1991 because she was walking through South Lake Tahoe along with few school friends.

Instead, they apparently trailed her to her home before returning the next morning to complete their mission.

Garrido allegedly jumped out of their car and grabbed her as she walked to nearby a bus-stop, while her husband remained behind the wheel.

“That’s the one I want,” Garrido told her when he saw Jaycee in the resort town.

“She’s cute, but she’s with the other kids. Let’s come back later and get her,” she added.

After being briefed on Mrs Garrido’s testimony by law enforcement contacts, Michael Cardoza, a Californian attorney and former prosecutor, relayed his coldly calculating words to the Telegraph.

“This was nothing less than a child shopping trip. It just makes their actions all the more horrendous and reprehensible,” he said. (ANI)

Fabric bags are growing popular in Kashmir

Srinagar, Aug 31 (ANI): People are lapping up environment-friendly fabric bags in Srinagar, which they say is reusable and has many benefits.

With the two-month old ban on plastic bags, jute, fabric or recycled paper carrier bags have now become a common sight in the valley.

People can be seen carrying their shopping in jute or other fabric carrier bags.

With the increased demand, sellers are happy to earn a few extra bucks on these eco-friendly bags.

Residents are happy with the government initiative, which is helping to make their picturesque town cleaner and healthier.

“People like fabric bags. Earlier, people used to throw polythene bags anywhere. It used to clog drains forcing and dirty water would flow over. It used to help in spreading diseases.

The government has done a good job by banning it. The demand for plastic bags has decreased a lot,” said Inayatullah Dar, a resident.

The drive has also helped to generate employment for people who are now making these fabric bags from cloth and recycled paper, including newspapers.

“In the process, the cottage industry has started looking up. Now people are stitching cloth bags, which are getting popular. People are now instead of binning their old newspapers reselling them for a little less than their purchase price. This has also helped in the circulation of newspapers,” said Khawaja Farooq Renzu, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Srinagar.

The ban has been imposed in the entire state, but tourist places are seeing its stricter implementation to discourage both residents and tourists from using plastic bags. By Afzal Bhat (ANI)

Is Posh turning a cheerleader?

London, Aug 29 (ANI): It seems Victoria Beckham is turning a cheerleader, for she was recently spotted shopping in Los Angeles for a cheerleader outfit, complete with pompoms.

Apparently, the former Spice Girl became interested in the outfit after her hubby David Beckham was famously snapped on two separate occasions in April last year, having a cheeky squint at the lycra-clad lasses who parade at LA Lakers basketball games.

Earlier this week, Posh was seen asking staff at Beverly Hills store Barneys New York if they could get her a similar outfit.

“Victoria was absolutely charming and very funny. She was being very self-deprecating when she asked if we could source her a cheerleading outfit,” the Sun quoted a source at the shop as saying.

“At first we thought she was joking as she was giggling so much, but it soon became clear she wasn’t.

“She asked if we could find a classic all-American outfit, but added it should be tasteful… well, as tasteful as it could be.

“She also insisted she wanted pompoms,” added the source. (ANI)

Laughter may be the ‘worst’ medicine for asthmatics

Melbourne, Aug 24 (ANI): A good laugh is considered to be the best medicine, but a new research suggests that it may trigger serious asthma attacks.

This makes laughter a serious matter for 40 percent per cent of Australia’s 2 million asthma sufferers, according to a new study.

The online poll of 200 sufferers, conducted by drug company AstraZeneca’s, has backed university research that revealed laughter can spark the chronic respiratory illness in up to half of asthmatics.

A more serious concern from this research is that three quarters of asthmatics believe their asthma is well managed but the majority put up with lifestyle restrictions because of their illness.

The survey reflected both a University of NSW 2004 study published in the Journal Of Asthma and a New York University 2005 study Laughter May Trigger Asthma Attacks.

Almost two thirds found themselves breathless when doing housework or shopping, while half struggled to do their favourite activities.

More than one third felt tired because of disturbed sleep.

A further one in five cancelled social engagements because of their asthma.

Concord Hospital thoracic physician Professor Christine Jenkins said well-managed asthma should not hamper the enjoyment of any of life’s pleasures.

“Worryingly, these findings show that while many believe they have their asthma under control, the asthma is actually controlling them and their lifestyles,” the Daily Telegraph quoted her as saying. (ANI)

Lindsay’s attention dilemma

New York, Aug 22 (ANI): Actress Lindsay Lohan seems puzzled over whether to seek media attention or not.

The ‘Mean Girls’ star had written on her Twitter page that she’d be shopping at Ina on Prince Street a day before.

But after finding a pack of paparazzi outside the store the next day, the actress tried to avoid them, reports the New York Post.

She was heard complaining to friends, “Why are there all these people here?”

Once entering the store, Lohan got managers to put up paper in the windows to thwart photographers before ordering pizza and buying clothes for herself, sister Ali and friends. (ANI)

Britney dumped by agent beau Jason Trawick

New Delhi, Aug 18 (ANI): Britney Spears is single again, after her agent beau Jason Trawick reportedly dumped her because he felt pressurised to propose marriage to her.

Trawick pulled the plug on their relationship after he found that the 27-year-old singer was desperate for him to commit to her, reports the China Daily.

“It was just too fast, too soon for Jason. He didn’t like the pressure Britney and her family were putting on him to put a ring on her finger. He told Britney repeatedly that he would never marry, but she refused to believe him,” a source told National Enquirer magazine.

Britney, who has sons Sean Preston, three, and Jayden James, two, with ex-husband Kevin Federline, thought she could change his mind by having a baby with him.

“Jason told Britney he needs time to chill away from her. She’s heartbroken,” said the source.

Although the couple have now separated, the ‘Womaniser’ star was seen wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger while shopping in Beverly Hills last week.

Recently, it was claimed that Britney, who was first romantically linked to Jason in March, was so determined to marry Jason that she was planning to convert to Judaism for him. (ANI)

500dlrs-an-hour Hummer ride is new birthday craze for Aussie kids

Melbourne, July 14 (ANI): A new survey has revealed that Aussie kids are now being given a special celebrity kind of birthday treat by their parents – a 500 dollars-an-hour Hummer ride.

According to Hummer hire companies across Sydney, there is a rising demand by parents looking to give their kids a birthday with a celebrity touch.

Clint Comelli, from Hummer Limousines Australia, which charges 500 dollars for an hour ride, said that the chance to party like a rock star was behind its new popularity.

“The Hummers with the big wheels and a lot of chrome are among our most popular,” the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.

“It’s most popular with boys between about 9 and 15 years but girls are starting to get in on it too, especially as we have a hot pink Hummer. With some parties, the kids arrange to do something else like bowling or going shopping.

“Otherwise we pick them up from home for an hour ride. We have a karaoke machine or they can plug their iPods in and have a disco-style party while inside.

“It’s been popular for school formals for a while, but more and more we are doing kids’ parties,” he added.

Wafa Elmol hired a Hummer for the birthday of her daughter Dallal, who described it as a “once-in-a-lifetime moment”.

“Even weeks after it, it was all we talked about,” Dallal said.

“We got picked up and about 15 girls were taken for an hour ride.It was a really fun experience,” she added. (ANI)

Rachel Weisz a cavewoman to her boyfriend

Washington, July 13 (ANI): Actress Rachel Weisz has said that she is no less than a cavewoman when it comes to her boyfriend.

The Constant Gardner star who has been with Darren Aronofsky for eight years, and shares three-year-old son Henry with him, revealed she loved the director for being a “manly man” who is always “totally himself”.

“In life I am a chameleon, and can sense very quickly how to fit in. But with him, I am not being adaptive. I am cavewoman to his manly man. He is always totally himself,” Contactmusic quoted her as telling Britain’s Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

“I love it that he doesn’t feel the need to fill silences with polite chat – his ability to cut to the chase is very exotic to me,” she added.

The stunning Oscar-winner further said that Darren was excited to return to Rachel’s native London, where she was due to feature in the theatre production of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’.

She said: “For him it’s all so exotic. He’s enchanted by the city, especially shopping at Argos, pronounced ‘our ghost’ without the T!’” (ANI)

After Shilpa, another Indian contestant racially bullied in Big Brother

London, Jul 10 (ANI): Reality television show ‘Big Brother’ is in hot water once again, as watchdog Ofcom has received almost 300 complaints that Marcus Akin racially bullied Indian contender Sree Dasari.

Ofcom has said that it would be looking into viewers’ concerns about the 35-year-old window fitter imitating former housemate Sree’s Indian accent.

The complaints were mostly about a row between Marcus and Sree, in which Akin, who threatened 25-year-old Sree, received a telling off from Big Brother and a formal warning.

Viewers also complained about a separate incident earlier in the day, when Marcus mimicked Sree’s accent while completing the shopping list.

“Big Brother intervened and took immediate and appropriate action relating to the argument between Sree and Marcus,” the Sun quoted a spokesman for the show as saying.

“Marcus received a formal warning following his use of threatening language during his argument with Sree.

“Threatening language and behaviour is not acceptable in the Big Brother house.

“Big Brother monitors the welfare, language and behaviour of housemates at all times and will continue to monitor this situation,” he added. (ANI)

Global brands join hands with nutritional supplements shopping portal MyNutraMart.com

Bangalore, July 7 (ANI/Business Wire India): Pragya International, a Bangalore-based company, has launched online shopping portal MyNutraMart.com to cater to the growing wellness nutrition market.

The Indian wellness services market is expected to remain buoyant and has the potential to sustain a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 30-35 per cent for the next five years, says a latest study by FICCI and professional services firm, Ernst and Young. T

he wellness services market is currently estimated at Rs 11,000 crore in India.

The FICCI-EY report, titled Wellness- Exploring the untapped potential, highlights that the growth is expected on the back of favorable market demographics, consumerism, globalization, changing lifestyles, increasing availability across categories and regions and rising awareness among people.

Global brands like Joint Expert, Mega-Pro, Zenith Nutritions, Joint’s Coach and Alpha Omega, have joined hands with MyNutraMart.com to sell their brands online.

Pawan of Vista Nutrition’s said: “In US more than 60 per cent of dietary supplements and wellness products are sold online. In India, online shopping is at nascent stage as internet penetration stands at paltry 9 per cent. But still being able to sell online gives us instant advantage to cater to wider market and save on branding expenses”.

MyNutraMart.com is expected to tie-up with more than 300 brands and offer 5000 products to cater to the growing Nutritional supplements market worldwide and in particular India.

The portal offers products for cholesterol management, blood pressure management, skincare, brain and memory, depression, vision and eye. Well known supplements like Grape Seed extract, colostrum, policosanol, glucosamine, spirulina and major vitamins have been included on the portal.

“While the Bodybuilding supplements market in Southeast Asia is well developed, at the same time uninformed and fraudulent selling is on the rise. By joining hands with MyNutraMart.com, we have ensured that the customers will get the option to make informed purchase and avail some discount as well,” said Arvind M Madhok of Bodycare Nutritions India, exclusive distributor for South Asia for US based company MEGA-PRO International, deals in sports nutrition. (ANI)

Subliminal messages force people into doing what they actually wanted to do

Washington, July 5 (ANI): Why is it that you were not planning to go for shopping but still end up going, and return home with a lot of new things? Well, this happens because you apparently wanted to go, but were not consciously aware of it, say researchers.

Dutch researcher Martijn Veltkamp has revealed that subliminal messages motivate people to do things that they already wanted to do, reports Science Daily.

However, this is only successful if a subliminal message matches a biological need, and if the behaviour is associated with a positive effect.

The researchers said that to make people behave in a certain way, the idea for such behaviour must first be planted in their minds.

Once the idea has been planted in their minds (so-called ‘priming’), either a lack of something (deprivation) or a positive association with a certain action can ensure that they are actually motivated to carry out that action.

Veltkamp studied this interaction in a series of experiments.

During the study he flashed the words ‘drinking’ and ‘thirsty’ onto a computer screen very quickly, so that they could not be consciously perceived.

This priming is what researchers call ‘making the representation of the behaviour accessible’.

In one group of participants, this was combined with deprivation hey were thirsty. In another group the word ‘drinking’ was combined with positive words, which led to a positive association.

eltkamp combined the three factors in different ways, and then registered how willing the participants were to have a drink.

The study observed that motivation for carrying out certain actions (such as drinking) occurred when the action matched an existing deprivation, or had a positive association.

To understand positive association, the researchers let the participants eat cucumber to alleviate fluid deprivation.

As expected, the participants that had only been deprived of fluid were less motivated to drink later on, but the motivation stayed high in those people whose motivation to drink was partly due to positive association. (ANI)

Chomu emerges as favourite shopping hub for agricultural equipments

Jaipur, July 4 (ANI): Chomu, a small town near Jaipur, is emerging as favourite hub for the purchase of agriculture equipments and machines.

In spite of being surrounded by non-fertile land, people in this region are economically self-sufficient because of their technical capabilities.

The agricultral machinery business in the town has flourished a lot due to sufficient availability of the raw materials.

“Unlike other villages, sufficient raw materials are available in our village. Therefore we have so many agro-machinery manufacturing workshops. Secondly the agriculture sector is also booming,” said Nathuram Jangid, agriculture machine fabricator.

The machines fabricated in the town are being supplied to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttaranchal.

According to the factory owners, the reason behind the success is that their machinery is more advanced, accurate and well fitted. That is why farmers prefer using the machinery manufactured in Chomu at their farms.

“Our machines are famous across the country because we use original bearing and original fittings. The buyers opt for our machines when they realise that our machines give superior service to them,” said Vijendra, another agriculture machinery fabricator.

There are over 150 small and medium sized Agro machinery manufacturing factories in this town.

Various types of Agro machineries are produced here but the owners claim that thresher, cultivator, plough and fodder cutting machines are always sought for. By Lokendra Singh (ANI)

50 railway stations to be of world standard

New Delhi, July 3 (ANI): Presenting the Railway Budget 2009-10, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that about 50 stations are to be developed into world class stations with international level facilities.

Banerjee said that these stations would be developed through innovative financing and in Public Private Partnership mode.

Some of these stations are: CST Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Howrah, Sealdah, Bhubaneswar, New Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Amritsar, Kanpur, Guwahati, Jaipur, Chennai Central, Tiruvananthapuram Central, Secunderabad, Tirupati, Bangalore City, Baiyapanahali (Bangalore), Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Habibganj, Gaya Jn., Agra Cantt., Mathura Jn., Chandigarh, Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, Majerhat, Mangalore, Porbandar, Anand Vihar, Brijwasan, Ajmer and Puri.

Banerjee also announced the construction of Multi-Functional Complexes (MFCs) in station premises for providing rail users facilities like shopping, food stalls and restaurants.

The MFCs will also have book stalls, PCO/STD/ISD/Fax booths, medicine, budget hotels and underground parking.

She said that during this year, 50 such railway stations would be developed in places of pilgrimage, industry and tourist interest. “The responsibility for development of Multi-functional Complexes would be entrusted to IRCON and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA),” she added.

The 49 identified stations to be developed as MFCs are: Alipurduar, Allahabad, Anandpur Sahib, Banspani, Bikaner, Bilaspur, Cuttack, Darjeeling, Dehradun, Digha, Durg, Ernakulum, Gandhidham, Ganga Sagar, Ghatsila, Gwalior, Hajur Sahib, Hubli, Hyderabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jammu Tawi, Jasidih, Jhansi, Jodhpur, Kanyakumari, Kathgodam, Katra, Khajuraho, Madurai, Manmad, Mysore, Nanded, Nasik, Palakkad, Parasnath, Raebareily, Raipur, Rajgir, Rameshwaram, Ranchi, Shirdi, Silchar, Tarapith, Tiruchirapalli, Udaipur, Ujjain, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam. (ANI)